Democratic Party of Japan

The Democratic Party is a liberal political party in Japan. The first incarnation of the party, the "Democratic Party" (Minshuto) was founded in 1996, consisting of former Social Democratic Party of Japan politicians who opposed an alliance with the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. In 1998, the party, Good Governance, New Fraternity, and Democratic Reform merged into the new "Democratic Party of Japan", which would become the largest opposition party in Japan. The Democratic Party of Japan and its LDP rivals fought for control of the government during the 1990s and 2000s, and the DPJ made itself stronger by merging with the Japan Innovation Party to form the new Democratic Party on 27 March 2016. The new party was a big tent party, but it predominantly supported liberalism and social liberalism.